In a gripping underwater rescue, Spanish divers have freed a 12-metre long humpback whale entangled in an illegal drift net off the Balearic island of Mallorca.

One of the divers, 32-year-old marine biologist Gigi Torras, said last Friday’s rescue and a little gesture of appreciation from the giant mammal were also a birthday present for her — the “best ever” in her words.

“It was like out of this world, it was incredible, just incredible,” she told Reuters on Tuesday. It was only the third time that a humpback has been seen around the Balearic Islands.

The weakened whale had been spotted by a